Public transit in Cornwall began in 1896 with the establishment of Cornwall Electric Street Railway Co. Ltd.

It all began with an electric streetcar service that ran on rails throughout the city.

Handout/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia NetworkA streetcar purchased in 1897 from Canadian General Electric. It was one of the first closed cars in Cornwall. Pictured: Paddy Bryne, Tonkey Leblanc, Rev. Corbet and John McAteerjpg, CO

The street routes were designed to allow easy access to and from the conventional railway systems, which allowed both local residents and people coming from outside the city to access the commercial districts such Pitt Street and major employers like the cotton mills, the Toronto Paper Co. mill, and downtown businesses.

To increase the adoption of the new streetcar system in the community, the utility purchased Gillespie Point and turned it into St. Lawrence Park. The idea was that even if someone didn’t need the cars to get to work, they might buy a fare to enjoy the new park, which included many activities such as swimming, dancing, a pavilion, and more.

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Despite this, it wasn’t long before the new system began to have problems.

“Like many companies, they found it difficult to run it as a for-profit enterprise, so they sought financing from SunLife. And in 1902, SunLife became the new owner of the company, and it was rebranded as Cornwall Street Railway Light & Power,” said Don Smith, associate curator of the Cornwall Community Museum / SDG Historical Society.

On Dec. 3, 1919, the transit workers unionized under the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Employees of America, which would eventually become the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU).

“We thrive on our history, and standing up for the working class is what unions do. We’ve come a long way since we were paid 49 cent per hour,” said Scott Szabadka, current president of ATU local 946.

At that time, there were two passenger service routes in the city. The Pitt Street route ran from the Grand Trunk Railway station to Water, then east to Marlborough, then down William Street. The Second Street route ran from St. Lawrence Park to Marlborough Street, north to Second Street, then west to the NY Central Station west of the paper mill.

In 1923, the Courtaulds textile plant was under construction, and in anticipation of its opening in 1925, the passenger and freight lines were extended to its location on Montreal Road.

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In 1927 and 1930, the two-man units were replaced by a one-man design.

“The thinking was to reduce costs. The new cars effectively cut the amount of labour required in half, at least on the operating side. Maintenance was another matter,” Smith said.

In June 1931, tracks were installed along Cumberland Street, which was the city limits at the time. The tack completed a loop along Pitt, Water, and Second streets. A few years later, in 1934, service extended once again to Seventh Street and from there to Pitt Street.

The transit system was also vital to the effort during the Second World War. The lines were extended to allow workers at the mustard gas production plant on modern-day Wallrich Avenue. At the time, the facility was top secret.

After the war ended, one of the first significant improvements to the system occurred.

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Trolley buses began to be phased into the transit system starting in June 1949. The buses no longer needed the rails, but still used the same power lines the streetcars had used. Within seven weeks, the transition from streetcars to the new buses was complete, and they would be used for the next two decades.

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“Street buses were a lot quieter, as the streetcars were quite noisy. They were also more modern,” Smith said.

Coming out of the Second World War, people had sacrificed a lot for the war effort and were not ready for some nicer things such as improved transit.

In 1970, the trolley buses were replaced with gas-powered buses. It was also at this time that Sunday bus service was discontinued as a cost-saving measure. This remains a point of contention to this day. But an even more significant change was on the horizon.

SunLife was taking a hard look at its operation of the transit and began signalling it was interested in divesting segments of that operation. Soon after, the City of Cornwall formed Cornwall Transit.

At this point, the city was not prepared to bring the operation of the transit system entirely in-house as it is today. Instead, they issued contract to A.J. McDonald Ltd., who ran it for the municipality, much like garbage collection today.

This changed in 1974 when it was decided the city would take on complete control of the bus system, and transit as we know it today began. Soon after, the city officially recognized the ATU’s precursor as the union representing drivers.

Ever since 1896, the streetcars, trollies and busses were all serviced a central depot on Water Street East called the “car barns.” They were no longer needed under the new system, and they were demolished as part of the work done to make land available for the mall.

A new depot was created on Second Street West, which is where Cornwall Transit still operates out of today. The construction of the new transit building was a major undertaking that cost $800,000 (roughly $4 million today when adjusted for inflation) and was not completed until 1976.

The city even ordered 15 new buses to coincide with its completion.

In November 1976, Eva Lanctot became the first female transit driver in Cornwall’s history. Her hiring was even front-page news in the Standard-Freeholder.

A school bus driver since 1969, Lanctot was the successful candidate out of 10 applicants, and then-transit manager Gordon Robertson said her flawless safety record put her over the top.

“(Comparing a school bus to a city bus) is like comparing a Volkswagon to a Rolls Royce,” said Lanctot at the time. “It’s like a gift, a new bus like that, compared to the old ones I was driving.”

The next big shift in public transportation in Cornwall was the establishment of Handi-Transit service for people with disabilities and mobility issues. That service began on Aug. 17, 1981. At the time, Cornwall was just one of six communities in Ontario offering the service.

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“It started just before I began working at Cornwall Transit,” said Len Tapp, the current transit manager. “It was a really big deal. People with disabilities used to have to climb steps to use transit. We’ve certainly come a long way since then.”

The buses shifted from using gasoline to natural gas in 1993, with the first of the new buses arriving in December of that year. But after several years, the buses were switched to clean diesel motors after maintenance problems with natural gas engines. This is what buses use today.

Modern buses also have greatly expanded accessibility features, everything from non-slip floors and wheelchair ramps. And improvements to the buses and routes continue today.